Crossed Signals
by Iacchos
Summary: Assuming makes and as out of you and me and miscommunication destroys everything.


I don't have any betas so sorry for the mistakes! Also I don't own SPN or it's characters or anything like that. This is just for fun.

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"I'm done." Sam's words fell like an anvil upon Dean. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The elder Winchester watched the younger with a confused expression. This wasn't really happening, right? After every storm they'd weathered this was the breaking point? It was all going to be over? Dean let out a small laugh. "You can't be serious Sammy", he said, still in utter disbelief; the man, mortified by even the thought of losing his other half.

The younger clenched his jaw, took a breath, and then exhaled sharply. "I'm serious, Dean", he replied, faux expression as cold as his faux tone. "I'm done." It was better this way, he reassured himself as he broke his brother's heart. They were weaker when they were together anyway; they were each other's weak spot. But that wasn't the only thing that had gotten to Sam. It was the secrets he wasn't willing to live with anymore: the phone calls, the unexplained trips to town, the avoiding questions. If Dean was going to keep things from him, then this wasn't working.

No matter how much he loved Dean and Dean loved him, if there were secrets then it was only a matter of time before everything blew up in their faces. Sam was being smart, leaving the love of his life before he was turned to ash by the flames of love. So many times they'd risen again like a Phoenix, but Sam knew this time it wouldn't happen. This time Dean was too invested elsewhere at the same time. Sam wasn't going to live like that, he wasn't going to quietly share and pretend like he didn't know it was happening.

It was no secret that they had an understanding that there would be some degree of stepping out on both parts, but emotional investment wasn't a part of the deal no matter how little or how great. And Sam wasn't going to stand for it. There was no need for an ultimatum because he loved Dean to much to make him choose, but he love himself enough to make the choice that needed to be made. He would swallow the bitter pill and shove it down Dean's throat to save them the pain of what could potentially happen down the line.

Dean took a deep breath and looked at Sam. God this couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. How was it that when he thought everything was perfectly fine, his life was actually falling apart? How had he missed that? Where were the warning lights? Where was the flashing neon sign that he was actually crashing? He hadn't seen this coming at all and he still couldn't believe it. But Sam was sitting right next to him in the from seat of the Impala looking at him coldly and his icy words were cutting right into Dean. "Sam stop kidding around", he said. "That's actually not funny at all."

The younger shook his head slightly. "I'm not joking Dean", he said as he reached into the back seat, pulled out his packed duffle and laptop bag. "I'm done and I'm leaving." He didn't wait for Dean to say anything, Sam simply got out and started to walk away from the impala. It's better this way, he kept telling himself as he walked away, ignoring Dean calling after him— begging him to stop. Sam couldn't bare to turn around and look back at Dean, he knew that he'd break right then and never leave. It was now or never and the pain he knew their future held was too much for him to have been able to bare. He crossed the street, hopped on the city bus and was gone.

—

Dean called over and over, but Sam didn't answer. He left texts and voicemails, even called friends to tell them to let him know if Sam got in contact. In one shot Dean's entire world fell apart and all for what he still didn't know. His phone rang and it was the same caller from all the other times, but dean just let it go to voicemail. "_Mr. Winchester the engagement band you placed an order for has been resized and are ready for pick up, come in any time and it'll be here for you to pick up._"

Dean listened to that voicemail more than a dozen times before he actually went to pick up the ring. He'd been saving for months to get it, hustling pool— odd jobs in town and then he'd finally gotten enough he got the most amazing platinum band for Sam; a show that Dean was now completely invested and there would be no stepping out.

The elder Winchester couldn't figure out where signals got crossed, where Sam had decided it was over. But now here he stood in the place they called their home, bottle in hand and ring in his pocket, Sam no where to be found— not willing to be found.


End file.
